One half of popular sports talk tandem responds to report of split

Sports talk radio personality Chris "Mad Dog" Russo on Monday refuted reports that he and co-host Mike Francesa are parting ways on their hugely popular "Mike and the Mad Dog" show.

Newsday had reported in yesterday's editions that sources were saying the two were ready to split up after almost two decades together, with at least part of that due to personality conflicts.

Russo acknowledged the conflicts today on his show on WFAN, but denied they were leading to a separation. He told his radio audience that he and Francesa had been "fighting like cats and dogs" until the early part of May, but that things had been OK since then.

"Nineteen, 20 years, you're going to have your issues occasionally," he said. "You gotta get through those issues."

But he denied the reports that he might be leaving.

"I don't see where that's coming from," Russo said at the beginning of his show. "We are under contract."

Francesa wasn't on the show; he wasn't scheduled to broadcast with Russo all week.

"Mike and the Mad Dog" started broadcasting in September 1989, and the afternoon drivetime show is immensely popular. According to winter 2008 data from Arbitron, the show had more than 659,000 cumulative listeners over the course of a week.

The show is also simulcast on the YES Network, the Yankees channel that is shown in the New York area and in other cities around the country via satellite.

Russo and Francesa have built up a tremendous amount of cachet -- and influence -- with both New York sports fans and the athletes and coaches over the years, and are never afraid to rip into teams when they underperform. Russo, as his "Mad Dog" nickname suggests, is known for being especially feisty in his on-air critiques.

Russo said he didn't know what was behind the report about the split, and WFAN did not return a call seeking comment.